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COAST CHRISTMAS CLASSIC : Jordan Has Energy, Beats Edison

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

After four days of basketball, Long Beach Jordan High School was running on reserves Saturday night. But even with tongues hanging, it had enough to get to the finish line.

The Panthers survived one last run by Edison for a 61-59 victory to win the championship of the Coast Christmas Classic at Estancia. It was the sixth consecutive victory for Jordan, but it was a struggle.

“Four straight nights of this can really wear down a team,” Jordan Coach Ron Massey said. “Fortunately, we now get a week off.”

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Neither team appeared fresh, as both had played overtime games the previous night. However, Jordan had enough energy to build a 49-39 lead after three quarters.

But in the final two minutes, the Panthers had to hang on by their fingernails.

The Chargers (10-3), who had managed to stay within striking distance all night, trailed by seven, 55-48, with 2:35 left when they made their final move.

Edison went on an 8-3 run, capped by Greg Miller’s three-pointer, to cut Jordan’s lead to 58-56.

The Chargers had a chance to tie the score after a Panther turnover. However, Todd Harrell missed the first end of a one-and-one and teammate Brandon Jessie missed a layup on the rebound.

“Normally Brandon dunks that ball, but he was very tired tonight,” Edison Coach Jon Borchert said.

Even though he was fatigued, Jessie managed to keep his team in the game. Despite defenses designed to deny him the ball, he scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

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Twice Jessie came out of the middle of the pack for dunks on offensive rebounds.

Said Massey: “We started in a box-and-one and that didn’t stop him. Then we went man-to-man and that didn’t stop him. Then we tried to double-team every time he got near the ball and that didn’t stop him. The only thing that stopped him was the clock.”

Rodney Harris, the tournament’s most valuable player, harassed the Charger guards throughout the game. He had four steals and 12 points.

In the third-place game:

Tustin 59, Estancia 46--Tustin dominated a game between two of Orange County’s top teams. The Tillers (12-2) outscored the Eagles, 18-10, in the second quarter to take a 34-21 lead. Thomas Clayton scored six of his 14 points in the second quarter. Estancia (12-3) never got closer than 10 points in the second half. Brian Reider scored 16 points and David Beilstein 15 for Tustin. Matt Fuerbinger scored 12 points to lead Estancia.

In the consolation final:

Banning 78, Corona del Mar 76 (OT)--Jabarl Anderson scored 36 points, including nine in the overtime, for Banning. The Pilots made 12 of 14 free throws in overtime. Jon Upham scored 34 points for Corona del Mar.

In consolation games:

Irvine 60, Dana Hills 49--John Molle scored 30 points to lead Irvine. Jaime Todd scored 20 points for Dana Hills.

Laguna Hills 60, Mission Viejo 51 (OT)--Brian Matsen scored 16 points to lead a balanced attack for Laguna Hills. Mike Lugo scored 15 points, Justin Ross 13 and Paul LaMott 10 for the Hawks.

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Huntington Beach 69, Pomona 66--Bryan Chang scored 22 points and Mustapha Abdi 21 to lead Huntington Beach.

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